April James Slivinski, RN, BSN

Home health nurses will tell you that there are significant advantages to caring for individuals and families in their own homes. Allied Services Home Health nurse, April James Slivinski, RN, BSN, tells us the home is the most intimate of patient settings. When a patient is seen in their own home it helps foster familiarity, sharing, connections, and caring between a patient, their family, and their nurse.

The number one patient benefit of home health care is that it allows patients to receive personal care in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. For home-bound individuals, receiving care in their home helps them remain as functional and independent as possible, providing a much higher sense of security and dignity.

April didn’t always work in the home health setting. Soon after graduating from Wilkes University in 2002 with her BSN, April worked at Wilkes-Barre General. She joined Allied Services in 2009. She chose Home Health because of the flexibility that a career in home health could provide. With her husband, Walter, their puppy Lililiu, and their blended family of 4 teenagers, being able to manage her own work schedule was one of many personal benefits that came along with being a home health nurse.

In addition, creating special bonds with her patients is another rewarding benefit of her career. A home healthcare nurse is not just a care provider but also a teacher and an advocate for the patient and their family. April becomes the main set of eyes and ears in the home, easing communication and limiting confusion between the patient and their physician.

Beyond medical care, April enjoys the friendships she has created in her 8 years as a home health nurse, and still maintains contact with some past patients and their families.